Police confirm he is accused of detaining a woman at the outlet mall for shoplifting, then kidnapping her.
A friend who had been accompanying the woman drove to West County Center and alerted police, Des Peres Department of Public Safety Captain Sean Quinn said.

“She told them that she was out at the outlet mall in Chesterfield,” he said. “They had encountered this loss prevention officer and this young lady was still with the loss prevention officer and hadn’t returned.”

Captain Quinn said the woman had received startling texts from her friend.

“They just were unusual messages that the young lady got from her friend, that weren’t normal,” he said.

Des Peres police took a report and contacted the Chesterfield Police Department, which made an arrest. The man was employed by H & M and worked loss prevention at the outlet mall, as well as West County Center.

Charges are expected to come in St. Charles County, which is where the man lives, police said. Des Peres police said they are familiar with the officer.

“Every once in a while, you have an accusation of wrongdoing, but we haven’t had anything of this nature,” Quinn said.